Canvaswork plays a big part of life in both the tropics and in more demanding climates as well. The bottom line is the right skills and tools can bolster the cruising budget.

For some of you I am hoping that reading this article will be a revelation. If you have never fed fabric through a sewing machine and never thought of that omission as much of a loss, listen up. Over a lifetime of sailing, doing your own canvaswork has the potential to save you more money than any other do-it-yourself boat-husbandry skill. If you think I am taking liberties here, just price a new canvas dodger for your boat, or new settee covers, or replacing the UV cover on your roller-furling genoa. As much as 90 percent of the quote will be labor cost—cost you eliminate entirely if you do the work yourself.

Here is your assignment. Pick up your telephone and find a relative or friend with a sewing machine. I’m not talking about a commercial sewing machine here; I’m talking about a Kenmore or a Singer home machine. Now get the owner of the machine to show you how to make a seam. Just one seam with you guiding the fabric should be all it takes for you to realize that this isn’t that hard. Of course, if you are seaming together two scraps of calico, you may wonder how this relates to sewing canvas or upholstery fabric. The answer to that is that heavier fabrics dictate larger needles, stronger threads, maybe even a different, more powerful sewing machine, but your part is the same.

If you already know how to sew, and already own a sewing machine, then you get a substitute assignment. Determine the largest needle size your machine will accommodate—hopefully a #18 or a #20—and buy a package of this size needles. Also see if you can locate a one-ounce cone of V-69 or V-92 Z-twist polyester fiber thread. Fabric-shop thread—spun or wrapped polyester—will serve for this practice exercise, but spool thread will not hold up to the exposure canvaswork is likely to get. For "real" canvaswork, you will eventually need to obtain polyester fiber thread from a local or mail-order canvas supplier. Buy Dabond thread if you have a choice.

If you have a domestic sewing machine, you probably had to dig it out to use it. Domestic sewing machines are arguably the most underused large home appliance. With the few adjustments detailed later, most can be coaxed into doing a yeoman job of sewing canvas. Nearly all will handle upholstery. Your most useful boat tool has just been languishing in the closet or the spare bedroom, awaiting rediscovery.

If you don’t have a machine, don’t borrow one. Sewing canvas means changing all of the adjustments and taxing the capacity of a domestic machine. You will experiment more freely and find your way more quickly if it is your own sewing machine taking the punishment.

What kind of machine should you buy? The machine you are looking for should feed and sew a thick stack of canvas, giving you long, straight, and uniform interlocking stitches. Initially consider only used machines—simply because you can get so much more capacity for your dollars. Check commercial machine outlets and major repair facilities rather than domestic sewing centers. You don’t want a machine that does buttonholes and embroidery. Unless you plan to make sails, you won’t need zigzag capability. You don’t want a machine that makes a chain-stitch. You should be able to find what you need at a very cheap price in an old fashioned straight-stitch Singer, or for a few dollars more in a replaced commercial machine. A walking foot is a major plus, as you will discover when you sew on a walking machine. If you have a place for a machine with a power table--meaning the motor is attached to the table rather than the sewing machine head--a really powerful machine is a joy to use. But do not spend too much on a used machine. For $400 you can buy a new Sailrite walking-foot machine (sailrite.com) that is both capable and portable. Sailrite is also a good source for thread, fabric, and other canvaswork supplies.

Photo by Sailrite.com

Sailrite makes a rugged, simple, sewing machine that for the price of just a few canvas projects on board, will pay for itself many times over.

Take a stack of six-inch squares of acrylic canvas with you when you shop and see how many layers you can get the machine to comfortably sew. Six is the minimum for your consideration, but given that hemming two adjacent edges will result in nine layers of cloth at the corner, more is better.

Whatever sewing machine you acquire, you will have to "dial in" all of the adjustments. The more of these you get exactly right for the fabric you are sewing, the better the seam will be. A machine last used to repair a nylon blouse simply will not make a decent stitch in acrylic canvas without adjustments.

Always start your sewing session by oiling the head. A well-oiled machine delivers nearly all its power to the needle--where you need it. The manual will show you exactly where to apply the oil and how much to use.

Change the needle. Except for thread tension, nothing has a larger impact on stitch quality than needle size. If you are having trouble with heavy fabrics, your first change always should be to a larger needle. For canvaswork a #18 or even a #20 will be a good size. Some domestic machines won’t accommodate anything larger than a #16 needle, a limitation that should prevent you from buying such a machine.

Set the stitch length adjustment to the maximum. Synthetic canvas tends to pucker when sewn, and lengthening the stitch reduces or eliminates this.

Increase the foot pressure. This is adjusted by pushing down on a button or turning a knurled knob on the top of the machine directly above the presser foot. The tighter the weave and the greater the total thickness of fabric, the more foot pressure you need. Domestic machines nearly always need maximum foot pressure for sewing canvas. Use the right thread. As already noted, that is either V-69 or the slightly heavier V-92 polyester thread. You want the thread to have a bonded rather than a soft finish. Be sure you thread the machine properly.

Adjust the bobbin tension. This is typically accomplished by turning a tiny screw on the bobbin case. The thread should pull out of the case smoothly but with some resistance. If it is tight or the tension is uneven, loosen the tension screw. If it pulls freely, tighten the screw. This will give you an initial setting.

Your final variable is upper thread tension, adjusted by turning the thread tension knob on the front of the sewing machine. Sew three or four inches of stitching through three thicknesses of scrap canvas--the same number of layers the machine will be sewing through on a turned-under hem. Examine the stitches on both sides of the fabric. If the bottom thread is straight, you need more upper-thread tension (or perhaps less bobbin tension). If the top thread is straight, you need less upper thread tension (or more bobbin tension). When you have the tension just right, the interlock between the top thread and the bottom thread will be buried in the fabric, resulting in separate, individual stitches—the same on both sides of the fabric.

Borne by a trade wind breeze yet sheltered from the tropical sun. Life in the shade is good indeed.

Once you have a sewing machine adjusted to sew canvas, what can you make? Anything you can visualize. Canvas items you are replacing can simply be disassembled and used as a pattern. Or if you would prefer illustrated instructions, I am happy to recommend the incredibly well-written book Canvaswork and Sail Repair. This thin but comprehensive guide will walk you through projects as simple as weather cloths and as complex as a spray dodger. Upholstery and sail repair are also detailed.

In addition to saving you an astonishing sum of money, skill with a sewing machine allows you to make an infinite number of fabric-based enhancements that you would never contract for. And as I have, you may find the creativity involved in the process to be just as rewarding as the end product. So don’t just nod. Call your mom and see if she still has her sewing machine.